Dr. Dixon’s Autism Speaks portfolio includes serving as the technical lead for the Caregiver Skills Training Program (CST), the Autism Speaks/WHO collaboration that provides training to caregivers of children with developmental delay/disorders. She is helping to facilitate the development and implementation of an open source diagnostic tool for use in low-resource settings. Dr. Dixon participates in the design and implementation training materials for Global Autism Public Health (GAPH) initiatives and manages parent & advocate networks, both in the United States and abroad. 

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Dixon’s previous work focused on leading clinics in the development of autism diagnostic services. As a Fulbright fellow, she modified evidence-based materials for use in Uganda, conducted diagnostic evaluations, and provided workshops for caregivers of children with disabilities. Her research and clinical interests are in building capacity for the improved identification and treatment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders in low-resource settings.

Her work in the USA, UK, Japan, Nigeria and more has focused on developing and opening school-based, community-based, home-based and clinic-based programs to support children/youth and young adults with special needs. For over 27 years Dr. Burns has focused her attention , research and experience on building awareness, education, program development and treatment based interventions.

Dr. Ingersoll is an associate professor of clinical psychology and the director of the MSU Autism Research Lab.  She received her PhD in experimental psychology at University of California, San Diego and completed a clinical post-doc in child psychology at Oregon Health & Science University.  She is a licensed psychologist and board certified behavior analyst.  Dr. Ingersoll’s research focuses on the development of community-viable interventions for children with autism and their families.   A major emphasis of her current work is on telehealth delivery of parent-mediated intervention.   Dr. Ingersoll has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on ASD, and is the co-author of Teaching Social Communication to Children with Autism, an internationally-recognized parent training curriculum for children with ASD.

With about 200 employees and operates 2 day program facilities for people living with developmental disabilities. He works in collaboration with Government agencies to create and implement evidence-based behavioural treatment to improve the lives and learning of people living with developmental disabilities. Lanre co-authored an article on the Treatment of Pica Disorder, 2018 published in the peer reviewed journal Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Lanre is a board certified Behavior Analyst, is a sustaining member of the Ontario Association for Behavior Analysis (ONTABA) and also a member of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts. He completed an Advanced Diploma in Behavior Science from George Brown College, Toronto, and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from York University, Toronto and a Master’s Degree in Professional Behavior Analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, U.S.A.

She has 14 years of experience consulting in Autism, Severe Special Needs, Learning Difficulties, and Staff Training & Behavior Management. Having earned a masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern University in Boston she proceeded to get over seventeen years of experience across four continents working in the special education, autism and consulting. She has worked as a special education teacher / behavior specialist in New York, as a program director of an autism unit in Ireland, as an autism consultant in Kuwait, Dubai, Cape Town and Botswana. She has been consulting and training for government, non-profit organizations and private institutions since her relocation back to Botswana five years both in Botswana and Dubai. Ms. Mauco is the Clinical Director of Africa Behavior Analysis Services (ABAS) focuses on parent support/training, learning difficulties, psychological assessments, educational training, organisational behaviour systems creation, educational remedial services, child abuse, government skills sharing, policy development, and behavior management.

Kara Banks is a certified Speech Language Pathologist with 10 years of experience in providing services to students with developmental disabilities. The majority of Kara’s career was spent at Wildwood Programs, a non-profit organization founded by parents of children with special needs, primarily Autism Spectrum Disorder. She served there as both Chairperson for Admissions and Lead SLP.

Her role as part of an interdisciplinary team of professionals was to provide a holistic student-centered approach to Speech therapy.  Kara also has an extensive background in providing services to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and is fluent in American Sign Language. She has worked as an Early Intervention therapist to provide both in-home and center-based services to young children.

Kara has a passion to help reach individuals and support families in underserved areas that are impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Kim D. Kaiser is the Mom of a son with Autism. She has 30 years’ experience in training, system navigation, educational advocacy, parent education and support. Kim works with communities, individuals and families impacted by Autism Spectrum and related disorders as well as behavioural health.

A US based national Non-Profit organization she founded in 2009, one year after her son Ari was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Her organization focuses on self efficacy and advocacy which supports individuals on the autism spectrum. The Color of Autism’s motto is “An Informed Parent is an Empowered Parent”. In 2020, during the COVID-19 epidemic she created The Autism Learning Center and online hub to support atypical learners. Camille is the mother son Ari and daughter Jillian and resides in Detroit, Michigan.

Dr. Agboola Paul is a Child and Adolescent Consultant Psychiatrist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Aro and the pioneer Head of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Department of the hospital after the completion of his Oversea Clinical training in Child Psychiatry in United Kingdom. He worked with other clinicians and therapists at the hospital to upscale the psychotherapy services in the hospital after completion of the training in Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy in Ontario Canada in 2014.

He is playing a leading role in the provision of general mental health services, research and training in the hospital. Dr. Agboola’s involvement in the provision of mental health services outside the hospital environment dated back to 2013 and has worked with the (a) Ogun State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social development (b) Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in the area of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Since 2015, Dr Agboola has been involved in the free screening of children with autism and other neuro-developmental disorders in the community, a program sponsored by the Guaranty Trust Bank of Nigeria.

She works in clinic at home and in schools, assessing paediatrics and adults, supervising junior Speech and Language Therapists and delivering therapeutic intervention, and developing home programmes. She has continued to expand her practice abroad and in 2019 began working with The Zeebah Foundation in Abuja.

She empowers those on the autism spectrum to pursue employment in the tech industry. Her work to provide employability skills for special needs populations is documented in the book Technical Difficulties. Jeannette currently works with Microsoft to close the opportunity gap.

Dr. Anna Lamikanra has been building connections and networks to bring an awareness to the issues of developmental disabilities, mental health disorders and universal education for all at home in the United States and in abroad. Most recent experience is in international education, special needs awareness, especially Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has been part of the Orange Ribbon Initiative for the last 10 years. .

Dr. Lam had earned the Doctorate degree from Iowa State University and has been the Executive Director for Blazing Trails International for over a decade. Blazing Trails International is a service provider for people with special needs.

Chinye Nolisa, M.S. BCBA, LBA is the Clinical and Executive Director of Direct Behavioral Services in New York and Massachusetts in the United States of America. She has over ten years of experience as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and over fifteen years working with individuals with autism, and other developmental disorders with behavioral challenges.

In her role as a Clinical Director, Chinye oversees a staff of Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Behavior technicians who provide ABA treatments and therapeutic support in schools, homes and communities in New York and Massachusetts in the United States of America (USA).

Her clinical and research interests include brain disorders, verbal behavior, social skill development, Adaptive Living skills (ADLs), Inclusion and functional communication training.

Mrs. Dotun Akande, a behaviour Analyst, is the Founder and Director of Patrick Speech and Languages Centre, (Patricks) Ikeja, Lagos.

It can rightly be said that she revolutionized the Autism awareness campaign in Nigeria. Today, Patricks stands tall as the pioneer Special Needs Centre for the education of children with Autism, offering services such as speech, occupational, music and behaviour therapy. The Centre also offers social skills building and play therapy using best practices. Mrs. Dotun Akande, with her cerebral team, have successfully worked with and integrated over 50 children into mainstream school system and has given employment to 4 adults with Autism even as she plans a new school facility that can accommodate and help more children and adults.

She holds a B.Sc. degree in Economics, and has over the years attended numerous training programmes on Autism and other developmental disorders at various International Institutions. She also qualified as a Behaviour Analyst from the Florida Institute of Technology USA. She is an advanced Certified Autism Specialist (ACAS), with Patricks being the first Nigerian Autism Centre to be registered with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).

Her deep involvement with Autism Awareness campaigns in Nigeria has resulted in various stakeholders engagement which includes the GTBank Orange Ribbon initiative, of which she is one of the Lead coordinator and facilitator.

Mrs. Dotun Akande, a Cherie Blair Mentee, was also the Vlisco Woman for the years 2015 to 2017. An honour bestowed on her for the contributions she made to the growth of Autism awareness and management in Nigeria. Mrs Dotun Akande has also featured in the first “W Power of 100” and “WimBiz Inspire Me 2”, featuring leading Nigerian women who have excelled in their various endeavours. Her desire for continuous learning and improvement led her to enroll in the John Maxwell Leadership Program to enable her continue her national advocacy on people living with disability.

Mrs. Dotun Akande is happily married with three children.

Eziafakaku Nwokolo is a mother of 3 girls with over 20-years’ experience in the Oil and Gas industry. She retired from her full-time job with Chevron Nigeria Limited in 2014. She started training to acquire the required skills to provide professional services to families of persons with developmental needs. She then went on to become the first and only resident Nigerian Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA®). She is also a Qualified Behavior Analyst (QBA).

She is the Founder/CEO of Shades of Life Care Limited; a company that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities. She sits as a member of the International Standards Committee of the Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis (QABA) Credentialing Board, Current Secretary of the Association for Behaviour Analysis in Nigeria (ABAN), and a Faculty Consultant at the International School of Disability Studies (ISDS) in Nigeria.

Currently, she is a PhD researcher whose interest lies in validating screening tools for Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Nigeria. Her research focuses on screening for ID and ASD in Nigerian adolescents and gathering preliminary prevalence data.